Anna Pavlova painting

This time it was the Jack Vettriano Retrospective exhibition that drew me to visit – you know the artist who painted the wonderful Singing Butler with the characters dancing on the beach.

A fabulous exhibition and well worth going to see if you will be in Glasgow sometime between now and 23 February 2014. It is amazing to see his distinctive style in the original paintings. But I digress.

What I want to share with you is the amazing, very large, painting of Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova that took my breath away when I came face to face with it at the entrance to the Glasgow Boys 1880 – 1900 exhibition at Kelvingrove. The painting is oil on canvas 198.1 x 144.8 cm.

My images can’t do this vibrant, lively, painting justice but hopefully they will show you a little of the artist’s ability in capturing the moving Anna Pavlova. Artist and one of The Glasgow Boys, Sir John Lavery apparently painted Anna Pavlova several times. This painting is dated 1910 and is sometimes known as The Red Scarf.

In gazing at the painting for some time I was drawn to the sheer joy of dance that we can experience from a painting or other image. I just love this painting.

The artist also captured Pavlova’s foot and ankle as if she was just about to step off into another glorious movement. Even this part of the painting grabs my attention and I see more and more in it every time I look at it. A painting I will want to visit again at the art gallery to enjoy the sheer size of the original work and the impact it has.

I hope you enjoy these images and if you are able to visit the art gallery in Glasgow, I hope you take the opportunity to see and enjoy Anna Pavlova with her red scarf.